A Guide to the G. Baley Price Papers

G. Baley Price (1905-2006)
was a professor of mathematics at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, from
1937-1975. This collection includes correspondence, committee files, and printed
material documenting his work.

Griffith Baley Price (1905-2006) received his PhD from Harvard University in 1932,
then spent several years teaching at the University of Rochester. He became a
professor of mathematics at the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1937, where
he remained until 1975, including a term as chair of the department from 1951-1970.
Price helped to establish the School Mathematics Study Group and was intimately
involved with its development and spread of the "New Math," as well as efforts to
reform mathematics education more generally. He was active in both the Mathematical
Association of America (MAA) and the American Mathematical Society (AMS). He served
as president of the MAA in 1957-1958 and was awarded the Association’s Award for
Distinguished Service to Mathematics in 1970. In addition, Price was a civilian
operations analyst at the headquarters of the Eighth Air Force in England (1943-1945).
Price is the author of a history of his experiences with mathematics during World
War II, as well as a history of the Department of Mathematics at the University of
Kansas, Lawrence.

This collection includes correspondence, committee files and printed material
documenting Price's work with the Mathematical Association of America, American
Mathematical Society, and other mathematical and scientific organizations; his efforts
towards mathematical curriculum reform; and his teaching and administrative work at
the University of Kansas.

The collection is divided into five series: Organizations; Conferences and Meetings;
Correspondence; Teaching and Research; and Personal. The Organizations series makes
up the bulk of the collection, and is divided into sub-series by organization. Price’s
term as president of the MAA and role as editor of the Bulletin of the AMS are particularly
well represented. The Conferences and Meetings series documents the many events that
Price attended, both as a speaker and participant. The Correspondence series includes a
variety of correspondence, both incoming and outgoing. Much of the correspondence relates
to Price’s involvement in mathematics education reform. The Teaching and Research series
includes material from Price’s academic work, including material from the University of
Rochester and University of Kansas, as well as his role as an instructor for the 1956 NSF
Summer Institute. Finally, the Personal series contains a variety of items, including
several from Price’s education at Harvard and work with the Air Force Operations Analysis
Section.